BASICS For Alcohol Use In College Students: Impact Of Choice On Anxiety

Problematic alcohol consumption and anxiety are common co-occurring issues among college students and have been linked to impairment in multiple areas of life (e.g., interpersonal stress, academic performance). The main goal of the present study was to examine the impact of a brief motivational intervention for alcohol use on anxiety symptoms and anxiety-related variables (e.g., anxiety sensitivity) that relate to both anxiety and alcohol use. College student participants (N = 25) were randomly assigned to a researcher-driven brief intervention condition or to a consumer-driven condition, which emphasized additional participant choice. It was hypothesized that anxiety would decrease across time for participants in both conditions, and would decrease more in the consumer-driven relative to the researcher-driven condition as a function of increased control. Quantity and frequency of alcohol use, and alcohol-related consequences decreased across time in both conditions but did not vary across conditions. Similarly, anxiety sensitivity in the areas of social and cognitive concerns significantly decreased across time, but not across conditions. However, anxiety symptoms and sensitivity related to physical concerns did not significantly decrease across time. These findings are consistent with past brief alcohol interventions for college students and suggest that such interventions may simultaneously address comorbid concerns